West Virginia voters on Tuesday narrowly approved a constitutional amendment that adds a prohibition on medically assisted suicide to the state’s constitution. Amendment 1 passed with 50.5% of voters voting for the measure, and 49.5% opposing it, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s Office.
Medically assisted suicide is already illegal in West Virginia.
The amendment adds to the bill of rights a line that says,
No person, physician, or health care provider in the State of West Virginia shall participate in the practice of medically assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing of a person.
It goes on to say that nothing in the section prohibits giving a prescription of medication to alleviate pain or discomfort, prohibit the withholding or withdrawing of life-sustaining treatment, and nothing in the section prevents the state using capital punishment.
Del. Pat McGeehan, R-Hancock, [pictured above] championed the amendment, calling it a proactive measure to ensure that medically assisted suicide does not one day become legal in West Virginia.
“It was a great night for West Virginia,” McGeehan said Wednesday of the election results. “I appreciate the support for Amendment 1. Amendment 1’s approval will prevent the terrible scourge of euthanasia from ever gaining a foothold in our great state. Going forward, we’ve helped set an example for other states to follow.”
Some voters said they were confused by the wording of the amendment on the ballot.
People who voted yes on the amendment supported prohibiting medically assisted suicide. Voters who marked no were against adding the words to the constitution.
Laura Hully, a mother of five in Berkeley County, said she didn’t have time to research the amendment before voting and that it was “obviously worded in a very confusing way.”
Hully said she asked a poll worker for clarification about how to vote if she’s in favor of medically assisted suicide and was incorrectly told to vote yes on the amendment.
“I got home, and I Googled it and found out I actually voted opposite of what I intended,” Hully said. Posting about it to social media, Hully said she found that others had made the same mistake.
Hully said she came to support medically assisted suicide after caring for her father, who “suffered” with Lewy body dementia for many years at the end of his life.
“He would literally say to me, ‘Laura, I don’t understand why I haven’t died yet, why I haven’t passed away yet. And I hate this, and I want out,’” Hully said.
Hully said she wishes there was an option for people when they’re in that state.
McGeehan did not respond to a question about confusion over the wording of the amendment.
Hully said she reached out to Sen. Patricia Rucker, who represents her district, to see if there is any way that the vote could be changed, considering people said they were confused by it.
Rucker said she told her she told her she doesn’t think there’s anything in the constitution that would require a recount in this circumstance, “but if it passes by a slim majority, at that point, we should have a discussion as to whether it was a legitimate victory and were there enough people who understood to take into account.
“We want to make sure the constitutional amendments are truly supported by West Virginia,” she said.
Landon Palmer, assistant communications director for the Secretary of State’s Office, said that according to law, the amendment became effective Tuesday, when it was ratified during the election. If a canvass of the votes changes the outcome, it would be nullified.
He said voters’ recourse for changing the outcome of the election would be to file a writ of mandamus with the Supreme Court of Appeals to revoke the certification of the amendment.
“Medical aid in dying,” as it’s referred to by advocates, is legal in 10 U.S. states. Bills to that effect were introduced in 23 states this year.
The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia opposed Amendment 1, calling it “unnecessary” and “backwards.”
“Amendment 1 passed by the narrowest of margins and is the latest example of how the Legislature wants to push divisive subjects instead of finding solutions for real problems,” Rusty Williams, advocacy director for the ACLU-WV, said in a statement Wednesday. “The purpose of a constitution is to limit government power and safeguard individual liberties. In addition to being unnecessary and cruel-spirited, Amendment 1 does just the opposite.”
West Virginians for Life, an anti-abortion organization, and the Catholic Church’s Wheeling-Charleston Diocese supported the amendment.
In a statement Wednesday, West Virginians for Life celebrated the amendment’s passage.
“Following the strong example of our legislators who voted by overwhelming majorities, the voters of WV have now also shown their belief that all lives in our beautiful state, regardless of age or ability, will be respected and protected from the dangers of medically-assisted suicide,” the statement said. “West Virginia becomes the first state in the United States of America to proactively protect all its citizens and health care institutions from the dangerous trend of assisted suicide by a state constitutional amendment.”